warm tops are better!

[CARIBOULH@xxxxxxx]

Tom Lesko wrote...
{Thanks Ed for all the info on your tops. I will offer this on the
 subject - an old time Italian Alfa mechanic (Mario Stacconi) once gave
 me this advice about installing a new top on my Spider, ( in broken
 English) " Put it on in the sun." Meaning: on a warm day, install the
 top outside, in the sun, so the top will be soft, pliable and therefore
 more manageable. It worked for me!!!}

That's mechanics advice is golden! I agree 100%

In fact about 10 years ago I was installing a new top on a Lancia Scorpion I
owned (really a folding and then hidden sunroof) and this was a FACTORY top I
bought from Lancia (Caribou is a Factory Authorized Fiat-Lancia Parts
Distributor). No matter how I tried the darn thing just seemed an inch or so
too short. I couldn't get the top closed no matter what. Left the car sitting
in the sun behind my garage for about 3 hours (it was a warm day, about 88
degrees) and when I came back... click.... right into position like a glove!

Also, I try to convince people that the person putting the top on has about
85% of the responsibility for how the finished product looks. The best top
installer in your county can take what would have otherwise been a somewhat
"shabby" top and with his talent and experience make it look quite acceptable.
And on the other hand, someone who's gone out and drank a 6-pak of Budweiser
for lunch can go and put on what would have been the finest top in the country
but wind up making it look like a "Hefty Trash-Bag".

Best Wishes,

Ed
www.caribou.cc

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